Mycena NewsThe Mycological Society of San Francisco January, 2004, vol 55:01

Speaker for January 20th MSSF

Meeting

Gary Lincoff

Gary Lincoff is the author of TheNational Audubon Society Field Guide toNorth American Mushrooms; co-author

(with D.H. Mitchell) of Toxic andHallucinogenic Mushroom Poisoning; andeditor of Simon & Schuster’s Guide to

Mushrooms; Mushrooms of Telluride;Eyewitness Guide to Mushrooms and

DK’s The Mushroom Book. He has ledmushroom study tours to more than

30 countries and is the past presi-dent of the North American

Mycological Association. He teachesbotany and mycology at The New

York Botanical Garden.

MycoDigestMycoDigestMycoDigestMycoDigestMycoDigestMycoDigest is a section of the Mycena News dedicated to the scientific review

of recent Mycological Information

––– Contents ––Speaker for January Meeting ...............1

MycoDigest .............................................1

Presidents message ................................2

The Foragers’ Report ............................3

MSSF and Phytophthora ramorum ......5

Culinary Corner .....................................8

Cultivation Corner .................................9

Grandkids at the Fair ............................9

Renew or miss out...................................9

Calendar................................................12

Fungal Jubilation in the Death of a Pine

by Else C. Vellinga (vellinga@uclink.berkeley.edu)

The big, old Monterey pine at the corner of our street has slowly died this year. Thefirst signs of upcoming death were clearly visible in March, when the central crownshowed signs of a beetle infestation and started to brown; a brownness which spreadthrough all the branches and needles over the summer. By September, when thebeetles had killed the tree, the main stem and the bigger branches became covered withsmall yellowish bumps: Cryptoporus volvatus, the pouch fungus or veiled polypore.There were as many as 50 fruitbodies per linear foot on the trunk and branches. Onthe entire tree there must have been several thousand. Now, in mid-December, theephemeral fruitbodies have already disappeared from the trunk, but linger on someof the branches. Last year, there were no indications of impending doom, and I don’tknow why the tree was vulnerable to the beetles’ attack. Fire weakened trees arenotorious for bursting out in this mycological rash, the fire having made them beetle-prone. But, fortunately there has not been a fire on our block!

Arora’s comments on Cryptoporus in Mushrooms Demystified are a beautiful example ofhis writing:

This bizarre evolutionary anomaly looks like a cross between a confused puffballand a bemused oak gall. The smooth, warmly tanned exterior is quite attractive(often reminding me of a small loaf of bread) and gives no hint of the tube layerwithin. Slicing it open, however, reveals a hollow interior with a “ceiling” of tubes.The “floor” eventually ruptures and tiny bark-boring beetles enter the “trapdoor” in search of tasty tube tissue and spores. After feasting they depart toconstruct brood tunnels in old or dying conifers, and the spores they carry withthem gain entry to a new host. Later, fruiting bodies may emerge through the veryholes bored by the beetles!

One of the questions I had, when seeing an entire tree covered with fruitbodies, waswhether they arose from just one fungal individual which had entered the treesomewhere and then raced its hyphae through the inside of the bark, emerging inmultiple places with many fruitbodies, or whether every fruitbody belonged to aseparate individual, meaning that lots of spores had germinated all over the tree. I alsowondered, how do the spores move from one dead tree to another, are the sporescarried around by beetles, and if so, are those the same species of beetles that kill the

Continued on page 4

Page 2 The Mycena News, January, 2004

Society OfficersPresident: Mark Lockaby (510)412-9964Vice Pres: David Campbell (415)457-7662Secretary: Carol Hellums (415)255-4950Treasurer: George Collier (415)641-6068

Presidents messageWe had our 34th Fungus Fair on December 6-7 and I would like to thankall of the members and others who turned up to make it a great success.We had over 150 volunteers help out over the weekend and in themonths preceding the fair. If you helped at the fair this year I would liketo say a big THANK YOU from everyone in the society.

I would also like to thank a few people who assumed key positions at thefair this year. First of all, I would like thank Dan Long for stepping up tothe plate to co-chair the fair. I promised Dan that it would just be a matterof delegating tasks to the volunteers. But when no one stepped forwardto handle two of the key positions, Dan went ahead and took care of themhimself. Dan, I know how much you worked on this and it is greatlyappreciated by all of the members. Thank you so much. Next I would liketo thank Ken Litchfield for co-chairing the fair this year. Ken workedwith Dan to organize all of the meetings that were held at the OaklandMuseum and also worked on the big display and the Cultivation table.Thanks Ken for all of your hard work.

Mark Thomsen was in charge of the cooking demonstrations. They werewell attended and a big hit with the visitors. Alvaro and Sherry Carvajalalong with Bill and Carol Hellums prepared all of the food for thevolunteers on Saturday and Sunday. Alvaro Carvajal also arranged for allof the speakers this year. Jane Wardzinska prepared the food for thevolunteers on Friday night. Shawn Johnson was in charge of vendors.Norman Andresen handled Book sales. George and Jane Collier tookcare of the membership duties. Beth Sampson was in charge of T-shirtsales. Larry Stickney manned the information desk both Saturday andSunday. David Eichorn was in charge of soup sales. (The soup sold outon both days.) Thank you very much for stepping into and taking careof these key positions.

A big thank you to the Oakland Museum staff for printing the posters,making up all of the professional signage, handling all of the publicity,paying the speaker fees, and for all of the other small things they do forus each year.

We had rain just in time and thank you to all of those who led or attendedcollection forays. We had plenty of mushrooms to go around. One of thehardest parts of the fair is sorting and identifying all of the mushrooms.Thanks to all who helped with this process: Dr. Dennis Desjardin, MikeWood, Fred Stevens, John Lennie, Dr. Else Vellinga and students, BobMackler, JR. Blair and students, Norman Andresen, Darvin Deshazer,and many more.

According to the museum staff, they had 1,200 paying visitors onSaturday and 1,400 on Sunday. I'm sure with this good turnout we wereable to earn a few dollars for the society from our various sales.

Once again I would like to thank everyone involved with making thisyears fair a great success.

ThanksMark Lockaby

This poem was publicly presented on November 24, 2001, as part of amushroom contest at David Arora’s annual Thanksgiving foray at the Albionfield station. The author - decked out in knee-high Amanita muscaria boots anda revealing dress – salaciously strolled through the crowd reciting her poem, andplayed with man-sized boletes strategically placed on men in the room by herpartner in crime, Alan Mohr.

Boletus Coitus

Now that the rains are hereI look for you every morningyour shiny headhard, ready, poking outfrom earthy coversshrouded in moist greening hair

How I want youvirile kingmycelial talons unbuckling my dreamssliding off each nightslippery, wet feetdiving into hunt

I carry my boxopen, ready, a crevassefor your long white flesh

the many faces of youinvite, coax with scentthread me through naked blue and fallen goldspast deer bones, deserted beer cansteasing with jacks and agaricsevery sexy spotted red nubmaking me want you more

there, right thereherejutting like a bull pineripe, thick, readyyou dance me to youI squeal, you waita fixed flowermicroscopic pulsespatient as I coopull you into my worldlips moistfire hotready

By Blake MoreCopyright © 1999

Blake More is a writer and performance artist who combines poetry andyogic dance. She has created dozens of one-woman shows and per-formed in clubs and theaters in California and around the world. Herfreelance writings have appeared in Yoga Journal, Utne Reader, Alterna-tive Medicine Digest, Tokyo Time Out and Intuition Magazine. She haswritten two non-fiction books, one fiction book, a book of poetry andtwo poetry chapbooks.

Select CommitteesForays: Tom Sasaki (415)776-0791Book Sales: Norm Andresen (510)278-8998Membership: Jane Collier (415)641-6068

The Mycena News, January, 2004 Page 3

The Foragers’ ReportJanuary 2004 By Patrick Hamilton

email: mycochef@aol.com Whew!—we did have a good bolete season after all. Afterall the anticipation after the first rains, after all the second rainsand after that too. It was even after all the food was eaten onThanksgiving that the north coast erupted with porcini popups. Seems like the edulis did not want to be on the same stageas other seasonal goodies. Cartoon sized mushrooms sprouted in the coastal pine andmadrone forests the day after that holiday and all was well in ourworld. Stuffed bellies and stuffed baskets—things could beworse. But did you notice how few other fungi were present then?The Amanita muscaria took another 10 days or so to appear andthe spy mushrooms were not playing their expected espionagegame. In other years I have counted on Clitopilus prunulus toexpose the exact same habitat as Boletus edulis but this year theywere fruiting even later than their tardy targets. However, whenI went back to spots where porcini had been picked a week orso earlier the fungus, also known as sweetbread or miller’smushroom, was right where it should have been. I was wondering how many boletes are pulled out of SaltPoint State Park each year. Three tons? More? On oneWednesday I saw over 30 vehicles parked along the sides ofHwy 1 (probably more were in the campgrounds). Let’s dosome simple arithmetic. It was obvious that many bags werepacked with porcini—close to the 5# limit and that there wereat least two people per vehicle. So that is approximately 300pounds right there, on that one mid-week day, during a seasonof at least 15 days. 300 times 15 equal 2 tons and we all knowthat many folks picked and hid them and then picked somemore. Four, five tons. . . Whatever, that’s a whole lot of mightyfine mushrooms—and they are free. Well, free until Those In Charge Of Our Fun figure out thatcharging for permits in this, “their” State Park would probablybe allowed by our new governor and could probably straightenout the state budget. When we did a cooking demo at the fair, people asked whereto find chanterelles in the East Bay. I informed them of thoselovely mushrooms rotting in the verboten East Bay parks andcouldn’t help but think of all those cows plodding and ploppingon the patches and a stench cloud formed over my opinion,once again, of Those In Charge Of Our Fun. Stinky. The ever foraging SOMA folks found the following in SaltPoint SP, actually before Thanksgiving (they have better eyesthat this forager): It will help if you breath in and out whilereading this— Amanita flavoconia, Amanita gemmata, Amanitapachycolea, Armillaria mellea, Armillaria ostoyae, Boletus edulis, Boletuszelleri, Cantharellus formosus, Chalciporus piperatus, Clitopilus prunulus,Crepidotus mollis, Cryptoporus volvatus, Fomitopsis pinicola, Fuligoseptica, Geastrum saccatum, Gomphus floccosus, Gymnopilus sp.,Gymnopilus spectabilis, Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, Hypholoma

fasciculare, Laetiporus conifericola, Lepiota cristata, Lepiota flammeatincta,Lycoperdon foetidum, Marasmiellus candidus, Mycena alcalina, Osteinaobducta, Phaeolus schweinitzii, Pleurotus ostreatus, Psathyrella sp.,Pseudohydnum gelatinosum, Ramaria botrytis, Rhizopogon sp., Russulabrevipes, Russula brunneola, Russula crassotunicata, Russula nigricans,Russula xerampelina, Stereum hirsutum, Strobilurus trullisatus, Suillusbrevipes, Trichaptum abietinum, Trichaptum fuscoviolaceum,Tricholomopsis rutilans, Tyromyces chioneus, and – always near theend – Xeromphalina cauticinalis.

Reports of “pristine” chanterelles in Marin, chanterellebuttons in Berkeley and the Oakland hills, shaggy manes alongroadsides and other places in Woodside, San Mateo county,and in the East Bay are starting to appear on our Yahoo groupslist. I believe that it was Larry Stickney who told me of a greatway with shaggy manes—puree whole mushrooms in a blender,pour into a saucepan, add some butter, S & P, and heat and eat.I like to add a little sage to that simple recipe. A report from Santa Cruz listed B. edulis fruiting on Nov.24—seemed early for there. An older Italian guy once told me that instead of the spymushroom the only sign he used for finding porcini down onthe Monterey peninsula was the Goodyear blimp. “Whoa!” Idid interject, “How could that be?” The, at that time, CrosbyPro-Am golf tournament at Pebble Beach (now the AT & T)utilized a blimp to help televise the activities and the eventalmost always was held right when his beloved ceps shrumped.So a zeppelin in the air can mean Steinpilz. Who knew? The most magical time in our forests, to many, is comingsoon. The January and February northern California woods areawesome. I about never use that word but there really is someawe here. The redwoods, tan oaks, madrones, and Doug-firsprovide far different fungi than the coastal pine forests doearlier in the season. It doesn’t get much better than seeingyellow-orange hedgehogs and bright white matsutakes, blackchanterelles and yellow foot complemented by the colors of thefallen leaves and the mosses and lichens—especially when ablast of sunlight comes screaming in from the west late duringan afternoon of wet walking in a horizontal rain. Do yourself and your friends a great favor and togethergreet the weekend after New Year’s deep into one of our winterwonderments. We have Jackson State Forest, Salt Point, Pt.Reyes, GGNRA and Mt. Tam, the water district lakes aboveFairfax, all those parks down on The Peninsula, even theforbidden East Bay parks. You can’t pick fungi in all of thesewoods but looking can be good (and a fine discipline too). That’s all for now folks.

Page 4 The Mycena News, January, 2004

trees? And of course, I wondered what the fungus was doing tothe tree, and how extensive its mycelium was.

As always, it is easier to ask questions than to answer them. Hereare some attempts.

Already in 1892, it was suggested that insects play a role in thelife history of the pouch fungus, as lots of species wereobserved nesting and crawling around in the annual, leatheryfruitbodies. But for successful transport, these insects shouldbe within the fungus during sporulation, leave the fungus aswinged adults (in other words, nesting insects don’t qualify), flyfar to infect new trees, and be associated with trees attacked bybark beetles. That rules out most species; in a study in BritishColumbia, the only one left was a predator of the bark beetles.However, an elegant study in the late ‘70s revealed a seconddispersal mechanism. This study looked at the number ofspores released through the ruptured hole in the pouch, andfound that, just as in all polypores, masses of spores werereleased – on average 4.5 billion spores per fruitbody! – and allthese billions were left free to wander with the air currents.However, spores were also isolated from flying and tunnelingDouglas-fir beetles, which do not live in Cryptoporus and werefree of fungal spores prior to flight. Furthermore, the fruitbodiesappeared through the holes the beetles made in the target trees:entrance, exit, or ventilating holes were all exploited. Whetherthe spores arrive internally or externally doesn’t seem to matterso long as their host penetrates the bark. It is rather unlikely thatan ambient spore can penetrate the bark on its own.

In any case, Arora’s “floor” serves more as a way to keep thesporulating surface moist, than to keep the insects in the pouchuntil the spores are ripe. It is rather surprising that the fruitbodiesappear in the summer when moisture is often scarce.

The evidence points to one conclusion: many spores landingon one tree, and producing many small individuals, rather thana single big one. Circumstantial evidence from a study ofanother early colonizer of dead wood, Trichaptum abietinum,bears this out. On one tree stump lots of individuals werefound, but there was no genetic structuring of the local popu-lation, indicating that dispersal over great distances is the rule.The wind is in this case the most obvious vector; thoseDouglas-fir beetles did not carry Trichaptum spores because thisspecies sporulates much later in the year than the beetles takewing. Trichaptum abietinum is found all over the NorthernHemisphere, but oceans impose barriers since the populationson the different continents cannot interbreed when put to-gether on a petri dish. Cryptoporus volvatus is less widespread, itoccurs in North America and east Asia , but has not been foundin Europe.

Back to my last question – what is the fungus doing to the tree?

Trees slowly and carefully build up a beautiful strong woodytrunk, and successfully resist most organisms that threaten thisstructure. But as soon as the tree dies, its active resistanceceases and the wood is fair game. Wood is still wood though,and its structure is not easy to attack. There is lots of carbon,but it is sequestered in complicated and not easily availablecompounds like lignin and cellulose, and there are adverseconditions with little nitrogen, low oxygen levels, and nastyresins and other compounds. Nevertheless, many fungal spe-cies are adapted to the task of decomposition and there arespecialists for different parts of the wood. Cryptoporus volvatusonly attacks and breaks down the cellulose and hemicelluloseof cell walls in the outer few centimeters of the trunk, in the so-called sapwood; this leaves the lignin intact, as well as the innerpart of the branches and trunk (the heartwood). As soon as thetree falls, other species get to work.

The extremely common red-belted polypore, Fomitopsis pinicola,is often an early colonizer in the process, but again it cannot doanything to the lignin. The Red-belted polypore, just likeTrichaptum abietinum, is an outcrosser, and populations that arefar apart can be quite similar, genetically speaking. Wind is itsmain vector for dispersal, and again the spores have beenfound on flying bark beetles and in their tunnels. It causes theremains of the tree to crumble into brown, cubical chunks oflignin shell and specialized lignin decomposers have to finishthem off.

What will be next on the neighbor’s pine depends on manythings; the place where it will end up, how big the pieces are,and of course which fungi arrive there first. But in the end,nothing visible will remain, and the tree’s components willhave served many different organisms and communities, andeventually, somewhere, a new tree will use them to start thecycle anew.

FURTHER READING:

Borden JH and McClaren M. 1970. Biology of Cryptoporusvolvatus (Agaricales, Polyporaceae) in southwestern BritishColumbia: Distribution host species and relationship withsubcortical insects. Syesis 3:145-154.

Borden JH and McClaren M. 1972. Cryptoporus volvatus(Agaricales Polyporaceae) in southwestern British Columbia:Life history development and arthropod infestation. Syesis5:67-72.

Harrington TC. 1980. Release of airborne basidiospores fromthe pouch fungus, Cryptoporus volvatus. Mycologia 72:926-936.

Harrington TC, Furniss MM, and Shaw CG. 1981. Dissemina-tion of Hymenomycetes by Dendroctonius pseudotsugae (Co-leoptera, Scolytidae). Phytopathology 71:551-554.

MycoDigest MycoDigest MycoDigest MycoDigest MycoDigest Continued from page 1

Continued on page 5

The Mycena News, January, 2004 Page 5

MSSF Discussion Groupon Yahoo Groups

The MSSF email discussion group facilitated through Ya-hoo Groups is a great way to keep in contact with othermembers and is one of the primary ways in which memberskeep up on news about the Society. The list features often-intriguing discussion of fungal-related topics, tips aboutcurrent fungal activity, and up-to-the-minute news aboutMSSF functions.

The list is available in both individual-message and digestformats. Additionally, you can also subscribe to the groupin “Special Notices” mode. That means that if you wish toreceive only official announcements from the society andnot email traffic from other members, you can subscribeusing this method. (Subscribers to the list in regular anddigest formats also, of course, receive official announce-ments in addition to posts from other members.)

To sign up, go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mssf/

Follow the link that says “Join This Group”. (You will needto sign up for a free Yahoo Groups membership if you donot have one already.)

MSSF and Phytophthora ramorumNow that the mushroom hunting season is upon us, MSSF membersneed to be reminded of the presence of Phytophthora ramorum — otherwiseknown as Sudden Oak Death — in Northern California. P. ramorum willhave dramatic and long-lasting effects on the ecology and diversity ofmixed oak woodlands.

All users of public lands should learn the signs of Phytophthora andmethods to prevent its spread. At this time, it is highly recommendedthat leaves, soil and firewood should not be removed as they carry thehighest number of spores.

The most obvious actions people can take are to avoid going to areaswhere the disease is present, consult with local resources, respect stateand county quarantines and trail closures, and use disinfectants toremove spores when leaving infected woodlands.

It is especially important that MSSF members who collect and studymushrooms for personal use take special care not to cause P. ramorum tobe transported into uninfected areas by taking the following steps:

If you visit a woodland with symptoms of P. ramorum, knock off any loosesoil or mud while still in the area. Where practical, use a disinfectant sprayor dilute bleach solution to kill any remaining spores and rinse off yourhiking boots and vehicle tires with water.

When visiting areas with no visible symptoms of the disease, wear a setof “clean” clothing and boots to avoid inadvertently introducing thedisease to a new area.

Further information about Phytophthora ramorum can be found atwww.suddenoakdeath.org

Hubbard HG. 1892. The inhabitants of a fungus. CanadianEntomologist 24:250-256.

Rayner ADM and Boddy L. 1988. Fungal decomposition of wood: Itsbiology and ecology. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons. 587 p.

Continued from page 4

Stories WantedIn the past few months, a number of mushroom hunt-ers have been questioned and/or cited by Park Rang-ers. If you’re one of these hunters (or you know one)we’d like to hear from you for an upcoming article inthe Mycena News. Send a description of the encounterand your contact information to: bill@curven.com.

Mycena News is the newsletter of the Mycological Societyof San Francisco and is published monthly from Septemberthrough May. Please email newsletter submissions to: mycena-news@mssf.org.

Editor: William KarpowiczLayout: Sonja NorwoodPrinting/Mailing: Mother Lode Printing, Jackson, CA

Note: Deadline for the February 2004issue of Mycena News is January 15.

Please send your articles, calendar itemsand other information to:mycena-news@mssf.org

Chroogomphus © 2004 Terry Sullivan

Page 6 The Mycena News, January, 2004

Gary Lincoff to be atSOMA Camp WildMushroom Retreat

The Sonoma County Mycological Association (SOMA)invites you to the 7th annual SOMA Camp Wild MushroomRetreat. The Camp will be held on Martin Luther King week-end, January 17-19, 2004. This year, SOMA is very pleased tohave Gary Lincoff, well known author of the “Audubon FieldGuide to North American Mushrooms”, with us as our keynotepresenter for the three day weekend.

SOMA is also very pleased to announce that we are movingthe Camp to a beautiful new facility, located near Occidental,Sonoma County, about one hour north of San Francisco. Thespacious, modern buildings are set amongst 225 acres of oak,madrone, tan oak, redwood, and Doug-fir. The newly-builtcabins are bright, clean, and airy, with hardwood floors andstylish bunks. There’s plenty of room for all the workshops andclasses, there’s a great specimen room, and it’s all surroundedby great habitat!

The Camp, a benefit for SOMA, is full of mushroom forays,specimen tables, slide shows, and speakers, as well as classes &workshops on mushroom dyeing, paper-making, cooking,medicine making, photography, cultivation, truffle hunting,and more, and of course, great wild mushroom cuisine from theSOMA culinary group. Fees: $195. Registration closes onWednesday, January 7. Fee includes lodging, meals, and allactivities. Special Sunday only fee: $90, includes lunch, dinnerfeast, and all the day’s activities.

To obtain a registration form, you may visit the SOMAwebsite at www.SOMAmushrooms.org, where you can alsoview photos and info from past SOMA Camps. Informationand registration forms may also be obtained from LindaMorris, the Camp registrar, 707-773-1011 (lamorr@pacbell.net),or the Camp coordinator, Charmoon Richardson, 707-887-1888(charmoon@sonic.net).

Special note for food and wine fans - before and after theRetreat, we encourage you to explore the scenic back roads andnumerous wineries, restaurants, and artisan food producers inthe area. Within a short drive of the Camp are the well-knownappellations of the Russian River Valley, Dry Creek, andSonoma Valley, with the Alexander Valley, Carneros region,and the Napa Valley not much further away. In addition, thebeauties of the Pacific Ocean are also nearby.

We hope to see you at the Camp!

Edible and MedicinalMushrooms:

Cultures and TechniquesFebruary 7 - 8, 2004

Location: UC Berkeley with a field trip to Santa CruzCounty

This special two day “hands on” mushroom workshop willintroduce participants to the necessary skills, techniques,and equipment required to develop their own mushroomfarm and produce an edible crop within a short time. Lecturetopics will include: a discussion of mushrooms that occur inthe San Francisco Bay Area, mushrooms that occur world-wide, new information on their many uses, nutritional andmedicinal value, and the environmental conditions neededto grow them. In the laboratory portion of the course,strains of edible and medicinal fungi and special techniquesand instruments will be introduced. While working withyour own culture, an overview of spawning and cultivationwill be conducted. On the second day of the course, partici-pants will have the opportunity to visit mushroom farms inSanta Cruz County. During the field trip several techniquesof preparation and cultivation of fungi will be furtherdiscussed including the environmental factors of light, tem-perature, humidity, and air exchange. In addition there willbe demonstrations of the equipment needed for the produc-tion of fruiting mushrooms. Lastly, participants will be givenfive culture strains that grow well in California. The cultureshave been developed from worldwide collections. Thesestrains include the anti-cancer medicinal fungus ling zhi, awide temperature range shitake, a high-yield and short-growing-cycle oyster mushroom, the American morel, andthe delicious and medicinal fungus maitake. Additionally, wewill introduce two new strains of edible mushrooms: tea treemushroom and bei ling gu.

Mo-Mei Chen, trained at Beijing Agricultural University, isa Professor of Plant Pathology and Mycology at the ChineseAcademy of Forestry, China. She taught Forest Mycologyand conducted research for Tottri Mycological Institute,Japan, on Shiitake production. She is affiliated with theCollege of Natural Resources, UC Berkeley, and the UCForest Product Laboratory and is a Research Associate atthe University and Jepson Herbaria. She has been teachingin Berkeley for 12 years and is an expert on medicinal andedible fungi of the American Mushroom Institute andauthor of international Crop Protection Compendium 2003.

Course fee ($225/$250) includes lunches for both days,transportation for the Mushroom Farm field trip, and fivestrains participants can grow at home. To register, visithttp://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/regform_04.html or call(510)643-7008.

The Mycena News, January, 2004 Page 7

Chroogomphus © 2004 Terry Sullivan

Culinary Cornerby George Collier and Carol Hellums

It’s the Soup, Dummy!

The Mayas in the highlands of southern Mexico recognize theEarth Lord as the source of rain and of treasure. This year innorthern California we have had a bountiful supply of gentlerain and mushroom treasure.

Why so?

The Maya Earth Lord likes to be fed by those who seek histreasure. Supplicants will burn candles at the entrances to hisdomain – caves and ravines. The candles may be rendered morepalatable by smoking them with incense – which is like season-ing the food that mortals eat. As the Earth Lord “eats” thecandles, they burn down. The Earth Lord does not mind ifsupplicants eat a good meal during their visit – in this way theEarth Lord eats by empathy. Perhaps, if the meal is goodenough, the candles can be dispensed with.

And a well-fed Earth Lord rewards us with treasure.

I must say, we have been eating well this autumn. We hadfabulous food at the Mendocino Foray. And Lo! By the timeof the Salt Point Foray, one week later, we were rewarded withthe season’s very first boletes. The Salt Point dinner didn’t hurtthings, did it? Gentle rains ensued – not like the angry stormof last year’s Fungus Fair.

At the Fungus Fair this year, we served up soup – to over 300customers at the soup table organized by David Eichorn andvarious Culinary Group volunteers. And for that, we earnedsome monetary treasure, as well as another good rain.

So the boletes were popping up at Sea Ranch and elsewhere inthe days before our Holiday Dinner. And that dinner wasanother feast! We had some 150 guests, delicious food, andwelcome revenues to bring to the MSSF coffers. I am sure thatthe boletes collected by David and Jeanne Campbell for thedinner had something to do with it.And I believe that we are in for a bountiful fungal winter.Why so? It’s the soup, dummy! And the Earth Lord is grateful!

The Holiday Dinner

The annual MSSF holiday dinner, on December 15, mustindeed have made the Earth Lord happy. For the setup crew,there was a spectacular sunset that, from the Snow Building inthe Oakland hills, engulfed the whole Bay Area in brilliantcolor. As dark settled in, the lights came on, the stars came out,and – so did the appetizers, provided by members of the MSSFCulinary Group and other generous souls.

The culinary offerings to delight the Earth Lord were deliciousand abundant. There’s a list of appetizers at the end of the story,credited where possible, and a special bonus of recipe or two.And behold the menu: We began with Wood Nymph Soup(creamed morels with golden beets, truffles, and sherry, andnutmeg) and garden salad with porcini bits. The main courseswere roast tenderloin of beef with porcini sauce and wildmushroom strudel (for the vegetarians), accompanied by scal-loped potatoes with black and gold chanterelles, and carrotsand peas with shallots. Dessert was cranberry-pecan breadpudding with candy-cap sauce.

If the Earth Lord appreciates music with his meals, he couldhardly have failed to take delight in the string quartet thataccompanied the dinner. The musicians were Brian Lee andBarbara Riccardi, violin; Paul Ehrlich, viola; and Victor Fierro,cello. All play with San Francisco Ballet and San FranciscoOpera Orchestras. They were gracious enough to come to thedinner and play on their only day off in a couple of weeks (thinkNutcracker). It was most appreciated, and their artistry wasenjoyed by all.

Many thanks to all who participated. To slide into film termi-nology, the dinner was “produced” by the MSSF CulinaryGroup, and directed by David and Jeanne Campbell, whoplanned the menu, gathered many of the mushrooms served,and assisted in the kitchen. Stars were Chef Michael Giacomini,in charge of the main menu, and co-star Sherry Carvajal, whomade a fabulous dessert for 150. Sherry and Al Carvajal, our“assistant directors,” sadly had to leave for Colombia two daysbefore the dinner, because of a death in Al’s family.

The supporting cast included Dulcie Heiman and Ken Litchfieldin the kitchen; George and Jane Collier and Bill and CarolHellums doing setup and cleanup of the dining room as well asmiscellaneous fetching, carrying, and organizational tasks, withassistance from Chris Olsen; and George Collier handlingreservations and taking care of money matters (no, on secondthought, George should be upgraded to a star!). David Bartolottaorganized the music. Many thanks to all! If the Earth Lord is asgenerous as his mushroom-loving subjects were on Mondaynight, it should be a very good year.

Continued on page 10

Page 8 The Mycena News, January, 2004

Cultivation CornerBy Ken Litchfield © 2003klitchfield@randallmuseum.org

Now that it is the post-holiday season and the rainy half of theyear is fully onset, it is time to start some mushrooms in yourgarden if you don’t already have them.

Did you receive a mushroom kit at the Fungus Fair or as a giftduring the holidays? After harvesting one or two flushes offruitings, it should have enough life-force left in it to grow outinto an appropriate substrate in the garden. If it is a compostfeeder like Agaricus, you can break up the kit block a little and putit in your compost bin or pile at the soil/compost interface. Oryou could scatter the crumbled block around a wild and weedylawn with a thick thatch. Do this during a heavy rain or water itwell to take the mycelium down to the thatch level.

Flushed shitake, maitake, or oyster blocks can be broken up intowood chip piles or mulch. If the chips are hardwood like oak ormaple that is better, but the typical tree trimmer wood chips ofpine-cypress-eucalyptus can work, especially if they have beenallowed to age for a while so some of the natural oils haveleached out. Hericeum or lion’s-mane comes in two species kits:H. erinaceus that likes hardwood and H. abietis that prefersconifers.

If you have freshly-cut tree stumps or large trunk branches withhollowed holes anywhere in the heartwood these could bestuffed with a spent kit of these wood-eaters.

If you have any dowel plugs and a tree that you want to get ridof, drill through the outside bark and several inches into theheartwood in a few different locations. Shove several dowelsinto each hole in series till it almost full, and then seal it with wax.The tree will get eaten from the inside until it is hollowed out tothe outside living layer.

Fresh oyster mushrooms can often dedifferentiate and sendmycelial fuzz out from the gills if laid on damp (not wet) woodin a cool dark place. Laying the mushroom body on a fresh damplog where part of the bark has been removed allows themycelium to infiltrate crevices at the wood/bark interface.

Other saprobes like garden giants and blewitts can be propa-gated relatively easily by pulling up the mushroom by its “roots”,cutting off the top half of the stem and cap to eat, andtransplanting the base to a new area with the appropriatesubstrate. Blewitts particularly like oak leaves and garden giantlikes raw stuff like wood chips or straw. Another “rooted”mushroom, that many people don’t realize is very tasty, is the red

whiffle-ball or Lattice Stinkhorn. In the egg stage it is quitedelectable sliced and sautéed. Though not poisonous, thethought of eating a full blown lattice could be an upchucker.It loves tree trimmer wood chips in thick mulch. Shaggy manesand shaggy parasols prefer well-broken down compost, suchas what is left after the garden giant or whiffle-ball has finishedeating, but with some added nitrogen. Decomposed horsemanure or grass clippings work well and the patch can bemaintained easily by simply adding more fresh clippings ormanure to the top of the pile to decompose and feed the patchas it gets to the bottom.

When you are cleaning your chanterelles and porcini, keep thetrimmings and any past prime specimens to scatter in the duffunder more convenient pines for porcini and oaks for chant-erelles. People who do this on a regular basis have reportedthat the new areas start to fruit after as little as two to threeseasons and continue then for many years. Thick duff with lotsof organic matter under the trees probably helps, as the sporesmost likely form saprobic mycelia before they mate, andmycorrhizal threads seeking out the tree roots afterward.

I’d like to thank everyone who helped Dan and I put on a greatFungus Fair at the Oakland Museum and I look forward toworking with you at the much more laid back Mushroom Dayat the Randall Museum on February 7th. I hope everyone hashad a great holiday and is having a Happy New Year.

For more information on manysubjects – check the

MSSF web site at:

www.mssf.org

The Mycena News, January, 2004 Page 9

This is Your Last Issueof the Mycena News

Unless you renew for 2004Many members have already renewed, so be sure to checkthe mailing label on this issue to see if you are one of them.If the label gives your membership as paid throughDecember 2004, you do not need to do anything. Thankyou for renewing early.

But, if your subscription expired as of December 2003,you need to renew NOW to continue receiving theMycena News and to enjoy continued access to the“members only” section of the website.

Renewing is easy. Cut this column out of your newsletter.Fill out the required information on the reverse side.Write a check for the appropriate amount, made out to“MSSF Membership.” Then mail your check and form toMSSF Membership; c/o The Randall Museum, 199Museum Way, San Francisco, CA 94114.

To save postage, you can give the envelope with the filledout form and check to Jane Collier at the January 5culinary dinner, or at the January 20 General Meeting.

You may also renew online by using the PayPal option onthe MSSF website. If you use this option, please sendJane Collier a personal email (at jcollier@stanford.edu)giving the information requested on the reverse of thiscolumn. Paypal provides only the name, mailing address,and email of those who enroll or renew. It does not givethe name of a secondary member, telephone numbers, analternate email address, or any indication of interests.

The regular, adult/family membership fee is $25.00. Forseniors over 65 and for full-time students, it is $20.00. Fore-members, who do not receive the Mycena News andother publications by mail, but must download them forthemselves from the website, the fee is $15.00.

The MSSF treats membership information as private, butit does VERY occasionally release its membership list formailings by mycological businesses. If you do not wantyour name included in such a mailing list, either contactthe membership chair or indicate on your renewal thatyou do not want to receive commercial mailings.

If you have questions about membership, please contactJane Collier, preferably by email at jcollier@stanford.edu.You may also telephone her at (415-641-6068).

Grandkids at the Fairby Bob & Barbara Sommer

Wow! A snake! And there is a tiny mouse under the rock ledge.Three year-old Kenny was enraptured, his nose an inch from theeye-level display in the glass cases at the Oakland Museum. He andbrother Bobby, age 6, were having a fine time. Clearly the museumfolk understand the needs of small children and have creativelydeveloped display cases that appeal to all ages.

The same care showed up at the MSSF Fungus Fair. That sectionhad table levels appropriate for the 6 year-old, and fortunately, a bitout of reach for the 3 year-old as the displays were not behind glass.The kids loved it. For 6-year old Bobby, the hands-on aspect madeit even better than the displays in the glass cases, where Kenny keptasking his dad “Are they alive?” There were no such questions atthe Fungus Fair tables, although the fungi probably seemed alivein the minds of the children. The boys sniffed and handled themushroom and puffed the puffballs. We winced a bit when BobMackey, in his very informative lecture, mentioned that it was bestnot to inhale spores.

Bobby was ready for the amazing world of fungi. In the enthusiasmof childhood, he is Sponge Bob in acquiring information andeverything he saw dripped with significance. He sat intentlythrough a 30-minute illustrated lecture, at one point, borrowing apad and pencil to sketch mushrooms shown on the screen,successfully capturing their distinctive features. He even tasted theexcellent mushroom soup in the café, while Kenny deconstructedhis slice of pound cake, more going on the floor than into hisstomach. At Bobby’s request, we marched through the displaysone more time before heading home.

For us grownups, it was wonderful seeing the regulars, like A.muscaria and B. edulis on exhibit, L.stickney at the Registration desk,F. stevens doing ID, M. rice and her dyed wool, and B. freedmanexplaining toxicology. Yet it was the little people, the next genera-tion of fungiphile elves, who imbued our visit with magic, provid-ing continuity and promise that traditions will be carried forward.They have energy. We have experience and wisdom. Bringing achild to the Fungus Fair let us see things through fresh eyes, andgives them some focus and content. The next day, we received ande-mail message the boy’s mother — “What are you doing to mychildren? They woke up from a dead sleep to check spore printsfrom mushrooms Bobby brought to show-and-tell. Actually it is agreat hobby for them.”

She’s thinking in terms of her kids’ knowledge and development.We, however, have something else in mind. With their fine eyesightand short stature, kids are unbeatable for finding fungi. Bring ayoungster to the next foray and collect more mushrooms!

Page 10 The Mycena News, January, 2004

The next Culinary Group meeting will be on Monday, January5, at the Hall of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.

And here, in no particular order, is a partial list of the appetizers,credited where credit is available -—

• Eggnog (Fred Kron)• Yellowfoot cream cheese with smoked salmon (Dan Long)• Craterellus and spinach in puff pastry (David Bartolotta)• Mushroom-leek pie with three kinds of mushrooms, in-

cluding wild oysters (Kathleen Madsen)• Salmon salad canapés (Roman Kendzior)• Wild oyster mushroom pizzas (George Collier)• Asian shiitake pickles (Peggy Ozol)• Chanterelle turnovers (Ken Bradley)• Morels with cream cheese, red and green peppers, wrapped

in wheat tortillas (Larry Stickney). Larry also broughtTrader Joe’s oyster mushroom chips.

• Abalone sausage-stuffed button mushrooms (Carol Reedand Curt Haney)

• Mushroom-Parmesan-garlic gallette (Michele and MariaPackman)

• Chanterelle spring rolls (Phil Brown)• Mushroom caviar with oysters, shiitake, and agaricus

(Marshall Krause)• Turkey rollups with mushroom pate and provolone (Bill

Hellums)• Chanterelles with caramelized onions and tarragon on

crostini (Debbie Viess and David Rust)• Artichoke dip (Beth and Jim Dunn)• Agaricus and mincemeat triangles in filo pastry (Jon Massey)• Sun-dried tomato sausage with crimini and dried boletes• Bowtie macaroni in tomato and mushroom sauce• Various dishes of olives, cheeses, pates, quiche, hummus,

and relishes, mostly involving mushrooms

And recipes! —

Peggy Ozol’s Asian Shiitake Pickles

3 lbs. fresh shiitake or other mushrooms, chopped or slicedMarinade:3 T water6 T rice wine vinegar4 T ponzu sauce (or substitute 50% soy, 50% vinegar mix)3 T mirin or sake6 thin slices fresh ginger1 bulb lemongrass3 peeled garlic cloves, chopped in half5 fresh thai chilies chopped fine1/2 cup finely-sliced green onion

Continued from page 7M

YC

OL

OG

ICA

L S

OC

IET

Y O

F S

AN

FR

AN

CIS

CO

– M

emb

ersh

ip a

nd

Mem

ber

ship

Ren

ewal

Ap

plic

atio

nN

ew M

emb

ers

ple

ase

fill

out

as m

uch

info

rmat

ion

as

you

can

. M

emb

ers

wh

o ar

e re

new

ing

nee

d t

o fi

ll ou

t on

ly t

he

bla

nks

for

wh

ich

info

rmat

ion

has

chan

ged

wit

hin

th

e la

st y

ear.

Ple

ase

chec

k th

e cu

rren

t R

oste

r to

see

if a

ny

of y

our

add

ress

, ph

one,

an

d e

mai

l nee

d u

pd

atin

g!

Nam

e 1:

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

Hom

e P

hon

e:__

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

Nam

e 2:

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

Bu

sin

ess

Ph

one:

_

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

___

Stre

et/

Ap

t#/

PO

:___

____

____

____

____

____

____

_C

ell P

hon

e:

___

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

__

Cit

y:__

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_E

mai

l 1:

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

Stat

e:__

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

Em

ail

2:__

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

__

Zip

Cod

e:__

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

_In

tere

sts:

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

____

___

New

Mem

ber

ship

?___

__R

enew

al?_

____

Mem

ber

ship

typ

e:__

__A

du

lt/

Fam

ily (

$25)

____

Sen

ior/

Stu

den

ts (

$20)

____

Ele

ctro

nic

($1

5)

Ple

ase

mai

l th

is f

orm

an

d a

ch

eck

mad

e ou

t to

“M

SSF

mem

ber

ship

”to:

MSS

F M

emb

ersh

ip, c

/o

Th

e R

and

all J

un

ior

Mu

seu

m, 1

99 M

use

um

Way

, San

Fra

nci

sco,

CA

941

14

The Mycena News, January, 2004 Page 11

Calendar continued from page 12

amanitas will be provided. Please bring to class any freshamanitas that you encounter. Free to MSSF members. OaklandMuseum 7:30 pm (www.museumca.org or 510-238-2200)Monday, February 2, Culinary Group’s Monthly Dinner:7:00 pm. Meeting and dinner at Hall of Flowers in Golden GatePark in San Francisco. For reservations or information, pleasecontact Alvaro Carvajal (415-695-0466 or email atalvaro.carvajal@sbcglobal.net).Saturday, February 7, Mushroom Day at the RandallMuseum: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. Free. A great event for kids andadults, with MSSF displays, identification table, books, T-shirts, mushroom modeling for kids, and great homemadesoups available for purchase for lunch. The Randall Museumis located at 199 Museum Way, San Francisco on the edge of theCorona Heights Park. For Museum information, contact 415-554-9600 or visit www.randallmuseum.org on the web.Saturday-Sunday, February 7-8, Edible and MedicinalMushrooms: Cultures and Techniques: Two-day hand-onworkshop will introduce participants to the skills and tech-niques required to develop their own mushroom farm. $225includes lunch both days. To register, visit http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/regform_04.html or call (510)643-7008.

(left to right) David Campbell, Jeanne Campbell and CarolHellums prove that too many good cooks don’t spoil the broth.

Bring broth ingredients to a boil. Add the mushrooms . Stirrapidly for 5 minutes or until semi-limp. Add salt and pepper totaste. Place in glass bowl or jar in the refrigerator. These picklesmake an excellent filling for sushi rolls.

Bill Hellums’ Mushroom Pate

1 lb. mushrooms4 T. butter1 large onion2 hard-cooked eggs1 t. salt1/8 t. pepperlemon, preferably Meyer, to taste

Process mushrooms and onion in food processor, or chop fine.Sauté the mixture in butter for about 5 minutes, stirring fromtime to time. (You may want to do half the mixture at a time.)Chop the eggs and add to the mixture. Season to taste with salt,pepper, and lemon juice. Mix well and chill.

This was used as filling for the turkey rollups, along with a stripof provolone cheese.

And a good time was had by all!

MSSF Calendar, January, 2004

Mycological Society of San Franciscoc/o The Randall Museum199 Museum WaySan Francisco, CA 94114

January, 2004, vol 55:01

First Class MailU.S. Postage

PAIDJackson, CAPermit No 29

Monday, January 5, Culinary Group’s Monthly Dinner:7:00 pm. Meeting and dinner at Hall of Flowers in Golden GatePark in San Francisco. For reservations or information, pleasecontact Alvaro Carvajal at (415-695-0466 or email,alvaro.carvajal@sbcglobal.net).Saturday, January 10, Beginners Foray at Point ReyesNational Seashore: Meet at 10:00 pm at the Bear Valleyparking lot. Rain will cancel. Limited to 20 people and byreservations only. Leader: Bob Mackler (510-799-6756 oremail, Rdmackler@aol.com).Saturday, January 10, Annual Mills Canyon Park Educa-tional Foray (not for collecting): Meet at 10:00 am for a walkwith Fred Stevens and Bill Freedman to last until noon or later.Foray is by reservation only and limited to 25 persons. Dressfor light rain. Heavy rain cancels. Wear substantial shoes, thetrails will be wet. Park perpendicular at the Adeline entrance,just south of Trousdale Ave, off Route 280. Please call BillFreedman at (650-344-7774 or e-mail loufreed@aol.com forreservations).Sunday, January 11, Mushroom illustration class: with JackLaws. Learn how to draw and paint mushrooms with a profes-sional naturalist/illustrator. Jack is a regular contributor to Bay

Nature, and designed this year’s Fair poster and T shirt. Free toMSSF members, but you MUST pre-register with the OaklandMuseum. For information, contact Dorris Welch atwelch@museumca.org or 510-238-6641Saturday, January 17, Tomales Bay State Park foray: Meetat 10:00 am at Bear Valley parking lot in Point Reyes NationalSeashore. We will then carpool to Tomales Bay State Park. CallPeter Werner (415-289-0168 or email: pgwerner@sfsu.edu).Sunday, January 18, Beginner’s Foray (not for collecting)at SF Watershed: Meet at 10:00 am at the Phleger entrance tothe SF Watershed where the end of Edgewood Road joins Ca–ada Road. To get there; take Highway 280 to the Edgewoodturnoff just north of the city of Woodside. Will finish aboutnoon. Heavy rain cancels. Children not preferred at this func-tion. Foray limited to 25 persons. Call Bill Freedman at (650-344-7774 or e-mail loufreed@aol.com for reservations).Tuesday, January 20, MSSF General Meeting: Doors andfungus ID at 7:00 pm. Guest Speaker Gary Lincoff at 8:00 pm.Thursday, January 22, Amanitas of California: slide showand lecture by Debbie Viess. Learn to ID California amanitasthrough their macroscopic features. A key to West Coast

Continued on page 11